(a) Whenever it appears that a claim is not eligible for reimbursement
pursuant to these rules, the claimant shall be advised of the reasons why the
claim may not be eligible for reimbursement, and that unless additional facts
to support eligibility are submitted to the Committee, the claim file shall be
closed. The chairperson of the Fund may appoint any member of the Committee
and/or his/herself to determine the eligibility of claims.

(b) A certified copy of an order disciplining a lawyer for the same
dishonest act or conduct alleged in the claim, or a final judgment imposing
civil or criminal liability therefor, shall be
evidence that a lawyer committed such dishonest act or conduct.

(c) The Bar's Office of Professional Conduct Senior Counsel shall be
promptly notified of each and every claim.

(d) The lawyer alleged to have engaged in dishonest conduct shall be
provided a copy of the claim and given an opportunity to respond in writing
within 20 days of the receipt thereof to the Committee.

(e) The Committee may request that testimony be presented. The lawyer
or lawyer's representative shall be given an opportunity to be heard if they so
request within 20 days of receiving a notice from the Committee that the
Committee will process the claim.

(f) The Committee may make a finding of dishonest conduct for purposes
of adjudicating a claim. Such a determination is not a finding of dishonest
conduct for the purposes of professional discipline and further, represents
only a recommendation to the Board. A claim may only be considered if the
individual lawyer involved has been disciplined to a threshold level of a
public reprimand or is no longer in practice.

(g) The claim shall be determined on the basis of all available
evidence, and notice shall be given to the claimant and the lawyer of the final
decision by the Board after a recommendation has been made by the Committee.
The recommendation for approval or denial of a claim shall require the
affirmative votes of at least a majority of the Committee members and a quorum
of the voting members of the Board.

(h) Any proceeding upon a claim shall not be conducted according to
technical rules relating to evidence, procedure and witnesses. Any relevant
evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible
persons are accustomed to rely on in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless
of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper
the admission of such evidence over objection in court proceedings. The
claimant shall have the duty to supply relevant evidence to support the claim.

(i) The Board shall determine the order and
manner of payment and pay those claims it deems meritorious, but unless the
Board directs otherwise, no claim should be approved during the pendency of a
disciplinary proceeding involving the same act or conduct as alleged in the
claim; specifically, no determination and/or hearing shall take place until
such time that all disciplinary proceedings have, in fact, been completed.

(j) Both the claimant and the lawyer shall be advised of the status of
the Board's consideration of the claim and after having received the
recommendation of the Committee, also shall be informed of the final
determination.

(k) The claimant may request reconsideration within 30 days of the
denial or determination of the amount of the claim.